Ken Paine, president of Industrial Heat Sources, was honored with a Visionary Award at the 2012 Smart BusinessInnovation in Business Conference held on September 20, 2012. Ken was one of four Northeast Ohio business leaders to be presented with this career-achievement recognition.

Visionary Awards are presented to business leaders who have demonstrated a history of innovative ideas throughout their careers, or have developed cutting-edge processes and products. Ken was recognized for the award largely due to his focus on customer service, product innovation and unique tolerance for risk. Read about why Ken was selected by Smart Business for this award.

In his acceptance speech, Ken offered a word of advice to fellow entrepreneurs: “Always do what you know to be right, and if you err, make sure it is to the benefit of the customer. When all else is equal, you can stand apart from the competition and grow a business by treating customers with respect, fairness and world-class service.”